Fun Facts: Iowa-Iowa State, the “greatest rivalry in college sports”

These are the official Fun Facts for Saturday’s Iowa-Iowa State football game. Use them judiciously.

1. Iowa State’s defense has held 16 straight teams to under 400 yards of total offense, the second-longest current streak in the country. Iowa is right behind at 15.

2. Iowa hasn’t lost in Ames since 2011.

3. ESPN’s College GameDay was in Ames for the last two Iowa-Iowa State games in Ames. This year, the show chose Tuscaloosa instead.

4. Iowa has been the underdog in this matchup just once (2021) since 2000. The Cyclones are 15-8-1 against the spread since 1998 in this series.

5. The Hawkeyes had 150 yards against Iowa State last year. No other ISU opponent was held under 213.

6. The Cyclones ran just 45 plays last week against Northern Iowa, the smallest number of any winning FBS team this season.

7. Since 2015, Iowa has more wins than any team in the country when scoring 14 or fewer points, with seven. The Hawkeyes lost two such games last year, to Iowa State (10-7) and Illinois (9-6).

8. In 2011, Iowa State defeated Iowa 44-41 in three overtimes. In 2017, Iowa beat Iowa State 44-41 in overtime.

9. Iowa’s Tory Taylor and Iowa State’s Tyler Perkins have career-long punts of 70 yards. Taylor’s was last year at Purdue. Perkins’ was last week against Northern Iowa. Perkins’ opening-game average of 53.6 yards on eight punts was topped only by Indiana’s James Evans.

10. Former Cyclone quarterback Brock Purdy threw seven touchdown passes to former Hawkeye tight end George Kittle in the last four games of the San Francisco 49ers’ 2022 regular season.

11. Iowa is 110th and Iowa State 118th nationally in total offense.

12. Neither the Hawkeyes or the Cyclones had a turnover in their first game.

13. Only two FBS players have returned interceptions for touchdowns this season entering this week’s games, and ISU’s Jeremiah Cooper is one of them.

14. Iowa’s Luke Lachey is tied for third nationally in catches by a tight end, with seven. Four different tight ends caught passes for Iowa State last week.

15. This game has the lowest over/under number (36.5 points) of any in college football this week.

16. Ames is a four-letter city in a four-letter state. So are Olin, Palo, Ryan and Tama, Iowa. As well as Orem, Utah. And Anna, Ohio.

17, The youngest of Iowa State Coach Matt Campbell’s four children is named Rocco. His starting quarterback is Rocco Becht.

Recommended Reading

ISU QB Rocco Becht’s formula for success: ‘Take what they give you’

18. This week, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, a former Cyclones wide receiver, called Iowa-Iowa State “the greatest rivalry in college sports.” Among the many that would like a word are Ohio State-Michigan, Auburn-Alabama, Florida-Georgia, Oklahoma-Texas, USC-Notre Dame, and Army-Navy.

19. There are no passenger trains connecting Iowa City and Ames. This would be unthinkable in nearly all European nations.

20. Ames has the world’s largest concrete gnome. Iowa City has the world’s largest wooden nickel.

21. Allison Williams will be Fox’s sideline reporter. She left ESPN over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all on-site employees to ensure compliance with the various league, conference and stadium protocols.